Texas Football: CBS ranks Sarkisian unsuitably low among Big 12 HC’s
At a time where a lot is on the line for the Texas football program, and specifically new head coach Steve Sarkisian, there will be a ton of pressure to have a successful season right out of the gates. Finding consistent success in the win column and on the recruiting trail will be the broad task to focus on for Sarkisian, but that is obviously not easy to accomplish.
Texas always has a very large microscope on its head coach when the turnover is high at this position. The former Alabama Crimson Tide offensive coordinator/reigning Broyles Award winner Sark is the fourth head coach in less than 10 years for the Longhorns football program. That is a lot of turnover for one of the most prestigious and resourceful football programs in the entire country.
The hire was made to bring in Sark to replace Tom Herman as the next Texas head coach back on Jan. 2. Hopefully, Sark will find more success than his two predecessors (Herman and Charlie Strong) and last longer.
Early signs are strong for Sark and the Longhorns this offseason. Sark remained active in the NCAA Transfer Portal and did well on the recruiting trail thus far. But it is too early to tell what the results will be like on Saturdays for this new coaching regime.
Steve Sarkisian has high expectations right away with Texas football, from most sources
Although, CBS Sports did pitch their opinion this week on the matter of where Sark stacks up with the rest of the head coaches around the Big 12. And CBS Sports did not hold a very positive opinion of the new Texas head coach in their ranking this year of the best at this position in the Big 12.
CBS ranked Sark as the eighth-best head coach in the Big 12 this year, namely behind the likes of the new Kansas Jayhawks head coach Lance Leipold. West Virginia Mountaineers head coach Neal Brown also ranked ahead of Sark, despite a lack of national success on the recruiting trail and only having one winning season at a Power Five program under his belt.
It makes sense that CBS Sports has Sark ranked behind the likes of Lincoln Riley, Gary Patterson, Matt Campbell, Mike Gundy, etc. But it is harder to convince most that Sark should be ranked behind coaches like Leipold and Brown.
Could Leipold work out well for the Jayhawks when it’s all said and done? Absolutely.
Does it make really any sense for Sark to be rated below yet another desperate Kansas head coaching hire? No.
Here’s more on what this piece from CBS Sports had to say on their placement of Sark.
"I guess calling plays for the greatest Alabama offense in history has its perks. Otherwise, I’m not sure how he makes it as a top-50 coach in the Power Five. Sark was OK, but not great, at Washington and USC, and he last led the Trojans in 2015. As the new guy with no recent head coaching experience, I’d put him last on this list and further down our national rankings."
Sark also barely placed inside the top 50 coaches in the FBS for CBS Sports’ ranking for 2021. If Texas has a successful run this fall, then Sark is likely to vault up a list like this heading into next offseason.
Next. 4 players who will see their production skyrocket under Sark. dark
Texas finished up last season with a record of 7-3 (5-3 Big 12) under the direction of the former head coach Herman. Sark will take to the field at DKR for his first game as the Texas head coach on Sep. 4 against Louisiana.